All agendas are carefully crafted and packaged to change the way people think. For good or bad, it is called propaganda; just like this piece. Looks like Bernays is still as relevant today as he was in the 1920s.

This video is pretty awful, but normalizing all liberal positions and portraying anything conservative as oppressive and downright mean spirited is the goal of public education from K-5 through PhD programs.

I think it's a shame that the folks who produced this piece make such an easy target out of those who worry about the direction of schooling in America.

I'm trying to figure out where it came from, just from the scenery. I'm thinking Massachusetts, or the northeast somewhere, because of the reference to Patriots' Day. If it's really been shot lately, I'll say northern climes -- no leaves on the trees, and the shadows suggest that the sun is pretty low in the sky.

when we use "age old words and institutions like marriage" to define the parameters of the relationship between our government and its citizens, then sometimes words have to be redefined. for example, perhaps to AJ's disappointment, "chattel" no longer includes human slaves.

So, that was the typically evangelical approach, on which I will not comment further.

But here is one example of the Mormon view and analysis to the foundational issues, given by a prescient Mormon leader back in 1978, and discussed in the more substantive way in which Mormons typically speak.

We’re always the reasonable, tolerant one, aren’t we? As I turned away from the video, just listening to the audio, for a moment, I realized that it could have been any self-described oppressed group speaking to me.

Cripes. I guess it all depends on which side of the fence you're standing on.

The right-wing agenda has been carefully crafted and packaged to use the words "homosexual" and "homosexuality" as much as possible.

Never "gay" or "lesbian," always "homosexual" and "homosexuality."

It pushes people's buttons, because it combines the slur "homo" with "sexual" (because, according to the right-wing agenda, homosexual relationships are all about sex, unlike normal relationships, which are about romance and love and family). Homosexual, homosexual ... homosexual! Doesn't it send shivers down your spine at the depravity of it all? It just sounds so ... sexual!

Look, I don't like the word "homosexual" either, but for linguistic and aesthetic reasons. It's a clumsy Frankenstein monster of a word, an inartful combination of Greek and Latin. But as a descriptor, it's no better or worse, nor positive or negative than the stupid term "gay". I think we should switch to using the term "cock craving dude" for male homosexuals and "labia loving lady" for female homosexuals. Or use the ones I use: dykes and faggots, said in the nicest way possible.

You know, while there are a lot of us who should observe this, try telling it to the gay kids who are killing themselves because of ridicule or fear or abuse or, most likely, their evangelical surroundings.

Palladian said... "You don't "think" about homosexuality. You have a visceral reaction to it."

That's true. Whenever I think about fucking a well-built young man's firm round ass, I get a very visceral reaction...But enough about your students..

Indoctrination of the young before their beliefs are set is Quite Effective.

N Koreans carefully fed diets of carefully packaged propaganda as kids fully believe how Kim Il-Sung and 'Lil Kim are all what is good in their lives. No different with Stalin worship and the Hitler Youth.America was very foolish to let the Left rear their children ideologically.Now we have American kids and adults up into their 40s convinced that:1. Government can solve all what ails them.2. Miracle exciting, almost free, solar power is poised to give us a wonderful green planet where the polar bears flourish and the evil Saudis will have no one still wanting their oil. 3. Martin Luther King was the greatest American ever. A possible God.4. All war is bad, it never solves anything, and there is something psychologically wrong with people that want to be soldiers. But that they deserve our full suppport, much as an AIDs victim does.5. And so on.

I'm already rooting for the Chicoms to put President Obama back under his rock before the country goes bankrupt. I'm about to start rooting for the jihadists so they can put out fatwas on the rest of the enemies of Western civilization. Wonder what the gay/feminist/environmentalist/porn producing crowd will do when threatened with death by stoning, all the while claiming it is we Americans who are intolerant and bigoted?

"You know, while there are a lot of us who should observe this, try telling it to the gay kids who are killing themselves because of ridicule or fear or abuse or, most likely, their evangelical surroundings."

I'm sure I'm transgressing some implicit understanding of western civilization, but I fail to see the negative connotations of the term "homosexual". It gets right to the point. Really, without the sex, the relationship fails to be gay. Same-sex relationships can take many different forms, but without a sexual nature, it's just a friendship. So, homosexual, to me is the most apt word, since it gets to the point.

Oh, and Palladian, I may have misinterpreted your meaning, but I don't think visceral is quite the word you're looking for.

I watched the entire thing and found it kind of funny. I liked how the speaker openly says that the day of silence is to fight bullying and harassment. I kept waiting for him to say something like "and that's why this September 15th, we ask everyone to go beat up a homosexual." I don't mind if people don't agree with others being open about their sexual preferences, but to be irritated when a school tries to stop violence against children is ridiculous.

It reminded me of "The Birth of a Nation," specifically the part where the Southerner is outraged that black people want to walk on the same side of the street as him.

I liked how they talked about the pain of homosexuality; the shorter lifespan, the drug use, the elivated risk of STDs, and the veiled mention of dying of AIDS. But they really should have focused more on the bullying and harassment: Getting beaten up. Having people whack you in the side the head so your ear drum bursts. Being called a fagot. Getting shoved every time you go to your locker and never knowing if the shoving will escalate into a full blown attack. Knowing that lots of people see this happen to you and don't do anything to help. Not being able to tell anyone about what's happening to you because they'll think you're gay, which you aren't even sure about or willing to admit. Being forced by law to go back to the same place where these things happen almost every day of your life. Never not being afraid; of fellow students, teachers, or your parents.

I wonder if these things might be related to the later drug use or suicide risk? Probably doesn't matter, because the pain of being a sinner (even if you aren't religious and don't know you feel that pain) is worse than all those other things. That's what the video seems to say.

You know, while there are a lot of us who should observe this, try telling it to the gay kids who are killing themselves because of ridicule or fear or abuse or, most likely, their evangelical surroundings.

They may not want to hear it, but it's probably the best advice anyone could give them.

I'm not sure I see how getting bullied because one is gay is any different than getting bullied because one is poor or homely or tall or short or stupid or smart or whatever.

Shouldn't the Day of Silence just be about bullying in general?

Also, why do schools allow bullying to get so out of hand? I hear stories about other schools, and I'm appalled. At the schools I went to, that stuff didn't fly. I had only one teacher who was, I think, too lenient about it. What sort of culture are schools promoting if they don't make students feel ashamed for acting so uncivilized?

I know some of you may find this hard to believe, but there's a group out there that can't get over one person being nailed to some wood "unjustly" about two thousand years ago. It's practically all they talk about. And when some of their members had bad things happen to them, they went so far as to erect buildings named after them! Clearly, claiming to be a victim wont get you anywhere.

Freeman....just look at the commenters here. If some of the extremists found here were back in junior high (not suggesting that some aren't actually there now) you can see the tactics and, I gather for them, the allure of trying to be the bully.

This entire thing is the all time strawman...nothing other than a warmed over "war on Christmas"/FauxNoise/O'Really? in a new suit. Some on here obviously live in a world of stereotypes and symbolic fears. Others are just knaves and fools.

In this case the supposed cure is far worse than the supposed disease. There will always be a Paul A'barge who can trace the "plot" and conspiracy back to the 50s and all that attendant paranoid crap, and some knee-jerk hitleryouth running around scared shitless and defending themselves with ignorance.

The curse of liberalism is having to put up with and ultimately endure an uneducated and closeminded set of loonies who haven't any sense whatsoever....my father used to call them the "ill-fitting shoe that hobbles society"...and I think he was right.

Look, I don't like the word "homosexual" either, but for linguistic and aesthetic reasons. It's a clumsy Frankenstein monster of a word, an inartful combination of Greek and Latin.I feel the same way. So I just use the Greek part, homo.

Schools let things like manners slide, then wonder why they have a problem teaching reading and math.

"Also, why do schools allow bullying to get so out of hand?"

If the victims don't get much of a response when they first complain, they just let it happen. Also, there are lots of people around, and if no one from that group comes to your defense you accept the behavior you get as the norm.

That's the type of socialization skills that home-schoolers get to miss.

Stopping bullying, violence against anyone who is perceived as different, homosexual, nerdy, mentally handicapped, racially etc and so on.....is a good thing and I doubt that anyone, even evangelical Christians, are against this. In fact tolerance for other people and forgiveness for the sinner is one of the central things that I learned in my early Roman Catholic upbringing.

What they, in this video, are objecting to is the agenda to indoctrinate children against the wishes of their parents and against the teachings of their religion that homosexual (ok have it your way gay) relationships are normal and that to merely object makes you a bigot.

Objecting and disapproving is their right. No one has the right to harass or hurt others, but you can't take away the parent's right to instill their OWN moral values (unless those values are criminal) This is what the push back is on the homosexual agenda.

I watched the entire thing and found it kind of funny. I liked how the speaker openly says that the day of silence is to fight bullying and harassment. I kept waiting for him to say something like "and that's why this September 15th, we ask everyone to go beat up a homosexual."

I felt the same way. I can understand not wanting a specific day or one devoted to silence on the topic, but the video made it sound like it was a bad thing that they would want to fight bullying and harassment. It's like "How dare they take away our god-given right to beat up a homo for Jesus!"

Dust Bunny Queen : "Stopping bullying, violence against anyone who is perceived as different, homosexual, nerdy, mentally handicapped, racially etc and so on.....is a good thing and I doubt that anyone, even evangelical Christians, are against this. In fact tolerance for other people and forgiveness for the sinner is one of the central things that I learned in my early Roman Catholic upbringing."

I would expect Christians to be against violence towards children. But when the people who made this video heard about schools trying to stop violence against queers, their only concern was that it was pushing the homosexual agenda. The video mentions both bullying and harassment, but never says there is anything wrong with them.

I assume the people who made the video think "bullying" and "harassment" are just words people use when Christians speak their mind. And the fact the the video tries to sound compassionate towards homosexuals in the most unrealistic way possible, only adds credence to that assumption.

Once again we're treated to that "he died for us" dogmatized misconception. Jesus did not die for us, rather he lived for us, and part of that living was a demonstration to witnesses that we survive the death experience, blowing everybody away so hard that even non-witnesses haven't stopped talking about it lo these two thousand years. The good news of the gospel is God loves you without sacrifice so it is unseemly and it is an indication the lesson is missed by making the crucifixion the central issue, as regrettable and egregious and unnecessarily gruesome a death as imaginable. This is the difference between the Catholic and Protestant crosses displayed in their churches, the emphasis placed on the crucifixion and on the resurrection. You might have picked up that I'm unfit for church.

It pushes people's buttons, because it combines the slur "homo" with "sexual" (because, according to the right-wing agenda, homosexual relationships are all about sex, unlike normal relationships, which are about romance and love and family).

True. J'ever notice you don't see cartons labeled "Homo Milk" in the groceries any more?

I do feel sorry for those who think you can pick a sexual orientation the way you can choose between Coke or Pepsi. Imagine worrying 24/7 that you might suddenly turn gay, like Cary Grant in the fluffy bathrobe.

DBQ wrote: "Stopping bullying, violence against anyone who is perceived as different, homosexual, nerdy, mentally handicapped, racially etc and so on.....is a good thing and I doubt that anyone, even evangelical Christians, are against this."

Chips Ahoy: "Once again we're treated to that 'he died for us' dogmatized misconception. Jesus did not die for us, rather he lived for us .... The good news of the gospel is God loves you without sacrifice so it is unseemly and it is an indication the lesson is missed by making the crucifixion the central issue ...."

No way, heterosexuals couldn't do that for even one a week. You will look at pictures of our significant others, listen to stories of misplaced socks and irritating habits, and listen to boring vacation stories. And you will say "uh huh" and nod, etc. as expected!

No way, heterosexuals couldn't do that for even one a week. You will look at pictures of our significant others, listen to stories of misplaced socks and irritating habits, and listen to boring vacation stories. And you will say "uh huh" and nod, etc. as expected!

trey and dbq, jason means married couples are always alluding to the existence of a "husband" or a "wife." This is heterosexual privilege -- few gay people have the cojones to put a picture of their life partner on their desk, or talk about how s/he burned the dinner or shredded the socks.

trey and dbq, jason means married couples are always alluding to the existence of a "husband" or a "wife." This is heterosexual privilege -- few gay people have the cojones to put a picture of their life partner on their desk, or talk about how s/he burned the dinner or shredded the socks.

Oh Baloney.

All the gay couples that I know have no problem using the 'we' word in public that indicates they are part of a two. They discuss their S/O, put photos of their partner and children on their desks, attend baseball games, belong to 4H, socialize right along with everyone else and have no problem telling embarrassing/funny stories about each other.

Granted this is California, but this is also the Reddest of Red State areas that you will find. I doubt that gay couples are cowering in fear across the US about discussing mundane domestic issues like who cooks better and who is sloppy around the house.

There are probably areas of bigotry and intolerance, and I am truly sorry and ashamed for that. BUT!!!!!! there is no need to try to use a giant brush to try to tar everyone else as bigots because there are a few. There is also no need to do the converse and try to paint all gay people as being the flaming weirdos that we see in the Gay Pride parades, when most are just people trying to get along with their lives.

As to talking about domestic issues...seriously...you aren't trying to compare with bringing your sex lives out in public and shoving the particulars of that in the collective public's face? No one should be discussing their sexual practices in public. The ICK factor is too large. Privacy please!!!

You know...I just had a further thought on my post that might have some relevance.

The gay couples and singles that live here, are mostly all Conservatives. Political and economic conservatives. Libertarians mostly. Republican and a few moderate Democrats. Socially conservative in that they are not 'flaming' in your face militant gay rights liberal types. They would never "suck face" in public or make overly demonstrative grab ass type of moves that would make everyone uncomfortable. The straight people in the community don't do those things either.

Decorum.....everyone benefits.

Perhaps that has to do with their harmonious acceptance into the community??

I have a different take on empty crosses. If there's no nail holes, bloodstains, and the INRI sign on it, Jesus hasn't died for your sins yet. It's not USED! And it's not necessarily Jesus' cross. Romans crucified thousands. How are you sure it's not the cross of some common criminal without the power to save you? Might as well wear an electric chair charm on your necklace.

OK fundamentalists give me the creeps and evangelicals are just way too smarmy. I don't really dig either of those styles of being a Christian. But I am an apostolic Christian and less conventional than the stereotype.

If I had that dominatrix as my teacher, my poster would say

JESUS LOVES FAGS

because it's true and it gets in the face of everybody--the fundamentalists, the evangelicals, the strict secularists, the atheists, the public schools, and some gay people who don't realize yet that Jesus loves them.

I'd rock that classroom.

So the evangelicals hate public school teachers now too...did she have a lip pierce? And black lipstick? And--horror of horrors--an NEA POSTER ON THE WALL!!!!! Must be demon possessed and evil!!!!

No, this is what he says to his nurse when he's lost the brick of saltines in the bedclothes. Don't worry, she'll give him his night-time meds soon and he'll be out of commission for at least 12 hours.